peickelberg Reviews

The Boy and the Heron (2023)

Visually amazing. I liked it...I think....

[9/10 · 14 December 2023]

This is the best animation I have seen from Ghibli yet. It's a complete feast for the eyes. I haven't yet learned whether and to what extent they used CGI, but even if they did, wow. Like the best video game you have ever seen. Lots of the scenes could turn into stills suitable for wall hangings.

Now for the story: Very, very strange. Which makes sense, as there is a lot of autobiographical imagination going one. But I think back to the first time I saw Spirited Away. I was like, "What is happening?" The movie has lots of bewildering moments without really any explanation connecting them. I personally like that, but a typical American viewer might not.

There is also so much going on and so many mini climaxes and denouements, that it makes the two hours feel like four. Best to watch this one during the day, but make sure it's on a big screen.

Seven for the story and ten for animation equals nine. Just like things don't always make sense in the Ghibli universe, that's how math works in my world.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

About what you expected. Glad it's over.

[5/10 · 31 January 2020]

If you are a big Star Wars saga fan, you'll like this film more than if you don't actually care about the characters' back stories, etc. I'm of the latter group, so discount my review accordingly.

In an age where we have all grown accustomed to high-quality CGI, the great graphics and creatures are good, but not as amazing as when the first Star Wars came out in 1977. We have grown, and we have grown a little jaded. So the visuals are excellent, but we kind of expected that, didn't we?

The inclusion of Carrie Fisher after her death was very nice, and they did a great job if that wasn't her real face. Behold the era of deep fakes. Excellent job.

The acting was just OK all around except for Lando. They might have used CGI and another actor for him, as he looked like he had trouble emoting and was just there because he's still alive.

The gratuitous scene of women kissing at the end had absolutely nothing to do with the story or any of the characters and must therefore have been entirely political. Blending current-day politics into an escape film always disappoints me, but what can you expect with Disney at the helm?

The main problem with this last trilogy was that it was just silly and tired. Blowing up a big weapon? Been done. Mastering the force? Over it. Someone is someone's close relative without realizing it? Yep, saw that one coming. Cantina scene? Well, that's sort of required, isn't it?

So go see it for the graphics and to close out this faded saga so you can finally put a nail in the coffin and no longer have to hear any more about this long, long-ago, far, far-away...cash generator.

(What? What's a Mandalorian? Dang it....)

Pixels (2015)

After hiring A-listers and paying for CGI, no money left for script

[2/10 · 31 July 2015]

Disappointingly bad movie.

The CGI is kind of cool, but the performances are flat, the comedic timing is off, and Sandler just doesn't seem to be making an effort at all(although this may just be his style). In fact, I'm sure that part of the dialogue was either a first-take or else ad lib. How do you get Sean Bean, Adam Sandler, and a few other well-known actors to participate in something so lazy? They could have used a studio audience or a laugh track.

I think I know where this movie came from. Someone decided to market a nostalgia film (1980s arcade games) to fathers who have boys aged 12-14. The humor is not sophisticated enough for a normally developed adult intellect, but it also is not appropriate for small children with all the adult themes. It doesn't work. I felt icky watching it.

There are a number of 10-star reviews on here. Could the studio have hired people to write them?